Books being distributed by RPF personnel to children under Project Disha
Activities under Project Disha conducted by Pune RPF Activities under Project Disha conducted by Pune RPF Books being distributed by RPF personnel to children under Project Disha Activities under Project Disha conducted by Pune RPF Activities under Project Disha conducted by Pune RPF Books being distributed by RPF personnel to children under Project Disha Pune: Project Disha, Railway Protection Force’s initiative, reduced stone-pelting incidents in Pune Railway Division to five between Jan and Aug, down from 14 during the same period last year. A widely circulated video of a stone-pelting incident at one of the coaches of Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express, which occurred on Sept 25, was shared widely on social media. In the second half of 2025 (July to Dec), a total of 1,698 cases of stone pelting at trains were registered by Indian Railways. Among these, 96 cases were registered in different divisions of Central Railway, including Pune Division. Under the Railway Act of 1989, stone pelting at trains is a punishable offence, which includes life imprisonment or rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years. However, in the Pune rail division, RPF initiated Project Disha in Jan 2026 at two stone-pelting-prone points. “In the Ghorpadi-Saswad area, while 9 cases were recorded between Jan and Aug in 2025, only five cases were recorded in 2026. But these five cases occurred before the launch of the program on Jan 21,” she added. Across the two areas, UTIs declined from 37 cases in Jan-Aug last year to 12 cases this year, a reduction of approximately 68%,” Sharma pointed out. The next phase is to expand the pilot into a network of 12 Disha centres across the Pune railway division.
Sharma said that since the programme started, no stone-pelting incidents were reported in Anand Nagar between Jan and Aug, compared with five such incidents during the corresponding period last year. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Pune | Silver Rate in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune | Petrol Price in Pune | Diesel Price in Pune | CNG Price in Pune | LPG Price in Pune Stay updated with the latest Pune news.
Priyanka Sharma , the divisional security commissioner of Pune RPF, said they too were surprised by the success. “We started with a pilot drive at two spots – Anand Nagar in Pimpri Chinchwad, which is an informal trackside settlement, and the area near LC Gate number 8 along the Ghorpadi-Saswad section – prone to stone pelting and illegal track trespassing,” Sharma told TOI . She said the programme followed a four-stage approach – Engage, Shift, Spread and Deter. The children were then gradually encouraged to shift their attention away from railway tracks and unsafe activities towards education, reading, sports, life skills and personality development. ” Sharma explained, “Following this, we gave them railway safety messages and urged children to take these messages to their families, friends and peers, thereby becoming safety ambassadors within the community. Each centre will function as a safe and positive space where children can regularly interact with RPF personnel, teachers, volunteers and community partners,” Sharma told TOI . Once this model is established and its outcomes are systematically documented, it can provide a replicable framework for other vulnerable locations and divisions of Central Railway, Sharma said, adding that the Mumbai division had already started working on the same.
It triggered concerns about the safety of passengers travelling in trains. The first offence calls for imprisonment of up to three years and in case of a subsequent offence, the punishment calls for imprisonment of a minimum of seven years in the absence of special reasons. Under the initiative, the personnel identify underage children who indulge in stone-pelting activities and provide them with something constructive to do. “Disha stands for Dedicated Initiative for Safety, Harmony and Awareness. We had tried many other things before this. However, those efforts didn’t make much difference. Hence, we took a decision to undertake a focused programme. “RPF personnel had to first build trust and rapport with children via friendly interaction, games, storytelling and recreational activities. With increasing community ownership, the objective was to reduce track trespassing, loitering, stone-pelting and damage to railway infrastructure. “The programme included setting up a mobile library of books in Marathi, Hindi and English, reading and educational support, and encouraging indoor games like chess, carrom, etc. We also encouraged sports and physical activities, drawing and creative competitions and most importantly, railway safety awareness,” Sharma added. “Thereafter, zero stone-pelting incidents were registered after the launch of the project. The pilot project has also helped us alleviate untoward incidents (UTIs). “The locations will be identified based on crime and incident statistics, vulnerable railway locations, presence of trackside settlements, concentration of children and juveniles, history of unsafe railway-related activities and local community requirements. Download the TOI App.
